Chicago board votes to close 50 elementary schools

It's being called the nation’s largest round of school closings in a single swoop. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago school board has voted to close 50 of the city's public elementary schools. The action, supported by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, comes after months of public hearings, protests, lawsuits and concerns about student safety. District officials say the closings are necessary to shrink a massive budget deficit and operate facilities more efficiently. Four schools that had been targeted for closing were spared by district administrators prior to the board's vote.

REACTION: The Chicago Teachers Union, which vigorously opposed the school closings, issued a statement after the board vote that called the closings outrageous and cowardly. Read the statement.